So Long, Goodbye
by Amaya-EA
Summary: Everyone is at the funeral for a friend and all hell is breaking lose. Chapter 4 is up...please R
1. Beginning Again

The plot: basically a bunch of former rangers are attending a funeral. I don't want to give anything away, so for now that's all I have to say.

I do not own any of the characters. I don't intend to create OC's, but if I do, they will be brief and move the plot along. This is dedicated to Scott because it is my first PR fic, I figure I ought to dedicate it to someone cool ;) Enjoy, and please R&R =)

**Chapter 1**

_Who would have thought that death would be my reason for coming back here?_

Adam Park was wearing his best black suit. His hands on the steering wheel of an old Chevy, Adam's thoughts floated around in his head like clouds passing through the sky on a windy day. He kept checking the time as though staring at it would somehow make it go back. He wasn't in a hurry to get to the funeral, but he certainly didn't want to be the last one there. Being last always meant so many questions.

_I guess this is what I get for not visiting more often. It's a wonder Kim even called me at all. Kim...wonder why she's kept my number for so long._

Adam wasn't usually filled with this much doubt, but his reason for returning to Angel Grove wasn't exactly the most pleasant. He hadn't seen or heard from anybody in Angel Grove in years. Not that it was anybody else's fault. Running his own dojo had proved to be more work than he had originally planned, but that wasn't really an excuse.

_The passing of the powers. If I'd known then what I know now...I wouldn't have left. I wouldn't have let..._

Adam cringed thinking about all the bad things that had happened while he'd been away.

When Adam had been called on by the Sentinel Knight to fight off Thrax with Tori, Bridge, Kira, and Xander, he thought he was doing a good thing. He thought he might be making up for leaving Angel Grove without a second thought.

When he brought his new teammates to Angel Grove to retrieve Alpha 6 to repair the Operation Overdrive link to the Morphing Grid, he didn't have time to reflect on the fact that he hadn't been there since he'd helped Carlos regain his confidence.

Driving along a winding stretch of desert road, Adam could smell the dry air. And man did he ever miss it. A standard ringing sound came from the passenger side of his car. He pulled off to the side of the road and answered his phone. "Yellow?"

"Pink!" the voice on the other end made Adam smile. "And when were you ever yellow, Adam?"

"Kim, it's my way of trying to keep the mood light. How are you? You ready to get this done?"

There was a brief pause. "Yeah I guess so. It's gonna be weird though, you know? I mean gosh...how long has it been since we've all seen each other? Are you bringing anybody uh...with you?"

Adam opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He knew Kim was expecting him to be bringing Rocky, but Adam and Rocky hadn't been on speaking terms for some time. "No. I uh...I'm coming alone. What about you? Are you...?" he couldn't finish.

Now it was Kim's turn to be without words. It wasn't all that long ago that she had pictured herself marrying one of her former team mates. After she left the original rangers, she broke up with Tommy through a letter. She knew that wasn't the nicest thing to do, but she didn't know how else to allow him to be with Katherine.

Jason hadn't been the same since he'd lost the gold ranger powers. When they reunited to help the other rangers with the shelter though, Kimberly had sensed her feelings for Jason returning (though nothing had come of it).

"Nope, I'm a free bird." She laughed uneasily. "So my car just died and I was actually calling for a ride. D'you think you could maybe pick me up?"

Adam hadn't been expecting that. "Sure. It will be nice to see your face...catch up."

"Uh...yeah, great. I'll meet you outside the mall."

"You're shopping on a day like this? Kimberly Hart, I'm surprised at you."

"Well it's more like I don't feel like having you be confused trying to get to my apartment. Call me when you're close, ok? I have someone else on the other line."

"Sure th..."Adam had been cut off before he could say goodbye.

_This is going to be some fun._

He began to blush.

_Unresolved feelings, happy and not so happy reunions...I hope I didn't just make a huge mistake._

"Hello?" Kim had lost her phone, so she was stuck with a downgrade model that didn't have caller ID.

"Hey Kim, it's me."

Kim's jaw dropped. The voice on the other end of her phone was all too familiar. "Jason? I didn't know you still...where have you...? How are y...?" Kim's thoughts ran wild. She had a million questions for him and unfortunately for her, her mouth hadn't quite caught up to her brain.

Jason laughed. "I'm good. I'm with Billy and Zack right now, actually. I've been thinking about you, but I haven't had the courage to call you."

She was shocked. "Well I don't really blame you for waiting until now. I mean...it's not like I call to check in on you or anything." Kim stopped talking. That sounded so rude. "So how are the guys? Do you all have a way to the uh...?"

"Yeah. Yeah...actually no, no. I flew in this morning and took a taxi to Billy's old house. Zack did the same thing."

"And let me guess: Billy still doesn't drive."

More laughter from Jason. "Well can you blame the guy? I mean he's been living on Aquitar with Cestria for years. I don't think they really need cars up there."

"Did she come back with him?"

"No, she's at home with the kids." Kim giggled. "What? She is." Jason smiled. Even after all these years, he still didn't fully understand Kim's sense of humour.

"Well it's just...it's kindof mean but...out of all of us? I never pictured Billy being the first of us to settle down and have actual kids." Kim sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. Her short, black dress was tucked between her legs. The wind was picking up. "So is this you asking me for a ride? Or did you just want to sit around and play 20 questions before we get to the funeral?"

"A little of column A, a little of column B. If you have a car and you happen to be heading the same way as us, I figured why not give it a shot."

"As it so happens, I don't have a car." She could hear Jason letting out a disappointed sigh. "I'm actually getting a lift with Adam. I can call him and see if he'd be willing to grab you guys after he picks me up. If you want, that is."  
Adam. Now there is a person I've been meaning to speak to for some time.

"Sure, thanks." Jason paused. "Actually, would you mind just giving me his number? I feel kinda bad making you ask for us."

"Uh sure. 876-1215."

"Thanks Kim. See you soon."

"Anytime!" with that, the two former power rangers ended their call. Kim's heart couldn't help but flutter a bit. In fact, she felt kind of pathetic.

_He wanted a lift, that's all. He's probably still with what's-her-name anyways. Maybe he didn't mention her because he knows we don't get along and he didn't want to upset me. That's a pretty thoughtful thing for him to have done. Oh stop it Kim. It can't happen. Remember what he did? Remember what he said? Get. Over. It._

Jason quickly dialled Adam's number. It rang several times.

_I wonder if he knows it's me._

On the 10th ring, just as Jason was about to hang up, he heard a click. "Hello?"

"Hey Adam, it's Jason."

"Need a lift?"

"When did you become a mind-reader?" Asked Jason, smiling. He knew he could count on Adam.

"Well once you retire from active ranger duty, you have to pick up new skills to compensate for the lack of kicking evil butt." Adam and Jason both laughed. "Kim just called to ask the same thing. I figure most of the calls I'm going to get today are going to be about the adventure we're going on."

"Yeah." The silence was slightly less than awkward, but still up there on the un-fun scale. Adam and Jason had hardly talked when they first met, and hadn't really kept in touch since. It was hard to strike up a mutually satisfiable conversation. "So uh...where are you meeting Kim?"

"She's at the mall. I can come get you wherever you are though. Doesn't really bother me. Not in a big hurry."

Jason couldn't blame him for that comment, though it stung somehow. "Zack and I are over at Billy's old house. I think you've been there before, right?"

Adam grinned. "Yeah, I've been there. I'll get Kim to give you a call when we're close by, alright? I'd hate to have to keep pulling my car over just to talk on the phone."

"No problem." A longer pause. "Thanks, Adam."

"Anytime. See ya." They hung up.

Adam's grin of amusement stayed on his face until he got to the mall. As far as he knew, he wasn't the most reliable of the original rangers. Yet today of all days, everyone was calling on him. He liked that though. He liked being the reliable one.

Kim opened the rear passenger door and flung her stuff onto the back seat. She slammed the door and jumped into the passenger seat. She buckled up and smiled at Adam. "That was pretty fast. You weren't speeding were you?"

"Of course not. Too many deaths in our family, right now. Wouldn't want to add to the body count."

Kim had no response. She'd never heard Adam speak so darkly before. She put her hand on his knee. "I'm scared too, you know. We all are. This isn't going to be fun. But we're in it together, and I'm always going to be here for you."

Adam glanced at her quickly. He sighed and placed his hand on top of hers. "Same here, Kim. Always."

They drove the rest of the way to Billy's house in silence.


	2. Not Like It Was

Aisha Campbell had been pacing around the house nervously for 10 minutes. She'd changed dresses three times before she was satisfied that she was wearing appropriate funeral attire, she put her hair up and just as quickly took it down, she lost, found, lost, then found the directions to Justin's house, and in all that time…Rocky _still_ wasn't ready.

"Rocky! C'mon now, we're going to be late! We still have to pick up Justin and the others! Trini's plane is on time, so it'll be landing any minute." She had called upstairs twice now.

_Guess maybe if I call him once more with feeling…_

As she was about to open her mouth, Rocky came barrelling down the stairs full force. He jumped the last two steps and blew right past Aisha. Checking out his reflection in the mirror, he spotted Aisha staring at him. She looked away.

She hated to admit it (even just to herself), but Rocky looked _good_.

_People we know should die more often. Rocky may just start dressing better more than once every few months._ Aisha mentally pinched herself. _I have to stop thinking like that, or I'll end up like…_

"Quit gawkin', we've gotta go." Rocky punched her lightly on the arm to snap her out of her thoughts, grabbed the car keys and headed out the front door.

"So how many people do you think are going to show up? I mean who else would be able to be there?"

"Minimum five." Rocky spoke gruffly. His fuse had been short for some time now, and Aisha's less-than-intelligent questions weren't helping his mood any.

"Why do you have to be like that Rocky?" No response. "You used to be such a nice guy. I mean just the other day everything was all sunshine and rainbows in our house. Now it's just a cold, dark, gloom-pit. I mean, ever since you and Adam…" She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence as Rocky slammed on the breaks.

"Is that _any_ of your business? Is it _anyone's_ business besides mine? Do I _care_ what you _think_ and _feel_? You win the million dollars if you answered 'no' to all three of those questions. Congratulations." He rolled his eyes, took his foot off the break and they kept moving.

Aisha stared at Rocky for a moment, then looked out at the scenery as they passed it by. That last comment had really hurt her. She began to reminisce about all the good times and then quickly shook them out of her head.

_What'm I thinking about the past for? It's over, done, gone. I haven't spent time with anyone except Rocky in over three years. I feel like I'm trapped in a relationship that I'm not actually in. I miss everyone so much. I guess I just wish Adam would move back home. It feels like if he could just do that, everything would be right as rain. No more fights, no more fits, no more broken anythings…just peace. I can't stand this crappy mood Rocky is stuck in. It's not fair that I'm stuck taking responsibility for something I didn't even cause._ She wiped a tear from her cheek. _That's it. Everyone else gets to live their lives like nothing happened, then so do I. After the funeral, I'm going to tell him I want my life back. After the funeral: I'm __done__._

Trini was their first passenger. She'd barely gotten through LAX customs when she received a text from Aisha asking if she'd landed safely. She texted back 'yes' before quickly heading to the main exit. She smiled when she spotted Rocky's dark blue Jeep.

"Thanks for coming to get me, guys. I would've called somebody else, but I've been in Hong Kong for so long that I didn't think to keep anybody else's number."

She threw her yellow duffle bag into the bed of the Jeep, opened the small door to the back and took her seat.

"So you haven't kept in touch with anybody?" Asked Aisha. Trini shook her head. "Wow. I guess it's a good thing you emailed me. Really though, not even Billy or K-ow." Aisha scowled at Rocky as he removed his elbow from her ribs.

"Y'hungry Trini? We have one more stop we have to make, but I have no problem with getting everybody some munchies or something. Everyone who _wants_ to eat that is."

Aisha inched uncomfortably away from Rocky. Not that there was anywhere for her to go, really. She didn't feel safe around him even _with_ Trini in the car.

"Have either of you spoken to anyone else? Do you know who else is going to be there?" Trini inquired, ignoring Rocky's question.

Rocky sighed quietly. "I can just _tell_ that this is going to be _some_ fun," he told himself, sarcastically.

Before Aisha could answer Trini's question, her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey-ey!" was the reply.

Aisha smiled; glad to hear Tanya's friendly voice. "You meet up with Justin ok?"

"Sure did. Boy, did _he_ ever grow up."

Aisha had never actually _met_ Justin, but she and Tanya had kept in contact while Tanya was a ranger and for a little while after that. All Aisha really knew was that Justin was young at heart _and_ in the head.

Laughter burst out of Aisha's mouth. Rocky looked at her and she turned to chuckle out her window. "Try to keep your cougar paws to yourself until we get there, ok?" she whispered into her phone, still giggling slightly.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Geeze, Aish, you know me better than _that_. Plus I think it's in the rangers' code: thou shalt not date someone if they were on thine team. Or something to that affect." More laughter from Aisha. "Gotta go for now though. Bye Aish!"

"Bye Tanya." They hung up.

As they turned down a street that Aisha couldn't see the name of due to moss covering it, she spotted Tanya and waved. Rocky pulled into the driveway and as he was about to put the Jeep in park, Tanya and Justin threw their bags in the back and jumped through to their respective seats.

Tanya ruffled Rocky's hair. "Miss us?" she asked grinning.

"Yup. _Bundles_." He glared at his rear-view mirror then turned his head towards the street and backed his Jeep up.

"Oh! Tanya, Justin: _this_ is Trini. She is the _original_ yellow ranger." Aisha was particularly thrilled for Tanya to finally meet Trini.

"Aisha's told me so many great things about you. I'm really honoured to finally meet you." They shook hands. "So I've always wondered, Trini: do you ever _miss_ being a ranger? I mean, you were one of the first…was it hard to _walk_ away?"

"Well I didn't exactly walk away _by choice_…" Trini began. She noticed everybody in the car (including Rocky) giving her odd looks. She shook her head and smiled nervously. "Another time. So Tanya…how long did you know uh…"

Silence. Justin and Tanya looked at each other. Justin shrugged. "Not long enough."

There was no more conversing in Rocky's Jeep after that.

"Billy! Hurry up, man, what're you doin'?"

In general, Zack was a pretty fast guy. Fast talker, fast walker, fast thinker, fast dancer…people always told him that he was impossibly to keep up with. _Well, just go faster_, he'd tell them. On a normal day, he would have told Billy to 'get his rear in gear sometime this year' but today was _not_ a normal day. In fact, today would be the least appropriate day to tell _anybody_ to 'just go faster.'

It didn't mean he had to like sitting on his hands. "B-"

"What's going on?" asked Jason, as he walked in the front door of Billy's old house.

"I dunno man, Billy's been down there since you got off the phone with Kim."

Jason knocked on the basement door. "Hey Billy, Adam's here, we've really gotta go."

A bit of mumbling was heard, and then Billy was upstairs again. He had something hidden in a cloth bag. "Sorry about that, got lost in my thoughts. There are quite a few projects down there that I never got around to finishing and…" Zack and Jason were staring at him with very familiar blank stares. "Right. Let's go."

They went outside and piled into the back of Adam's Chevy.

"Hey Adam, next time we do this, could you rent something a _little_ bigger than a clown car? It's kindof cramped back here." Said Zack.

"I just rented the first car I saw on the lot. Didn't think I'd be bringing this many companions with me." Adam was speaking in that deadpan voice that Kimberly hated.

_What is going on in that head of yours, Adam?_

"Have you been well, Kimberly? I haven't spoken to you in some time." Said Billy, trying to quickly change the subject. He hated tension.

"Oh I've uh…been well. Touring, working here and there, just you know…passing time."

_Who would have thought that trying to talk to some of my best friends in the whole world would be so…awkward?_

Kim made a face and turned to face the front of the car. She turned back two seconds later. "So how _are_ the kids, Billy? Not gonna lie, I wouldn't have pegged you as the fatherly type. At least not yet… how is Cestria?"

"To sum it all up, I will steal a phrase from you: everything is Morphenominal." Everyone laughed. "The kids are well, though I don't see them as often as I'd like. I'm constantly working with the planet's engineers to further advance their technology."

"Speaking of Aquitar, do you guys think Aurico will be at the funeral?" asked Jason.

Billy assumed the question was directed at him and shook his head. "I have no idea. It wouldn't surprise me if he _was_ there. After all, he and…"

Kim cut Billy off with an excited shriek. Adam slammed on the brakes and all the guys looked at her. "_What_? Oh sorry. Just got a text from Aisha. She's with Justin and Tanya and Trini and Rocky."

"Trini!" Exclaimed Billy! "I haven't seen Trini in…well, since…"

"We know." Said Zack and Jason in unison. They smiled at Billy.

"Aisha says they're pretty close to the funeral home and they're going to wait outside for us. How far away are we, Adam?"

"We should be there in about 10 minutes."

"I'm a bit more excited now you guys…I mean, not for the reason that we get to see everyone but…well I guess the _fact_ that we get to see everyone. Oh, no matter how I say it, it comes out all wrong."

The guys laughed at Kim. "Quit getting all flustered, Kim. It's just us." Said Zack patting her shoulder. She smiled at the gesture.

"Yeah, if you can't keep your head straight around us, imagine how hard it's going to be when you're around a bunch of strangers. Just _chill out_, Kim. Everything's going to be fine." Jason put his hand on her other shoulder.

"Aw, I love you guys." Kim couldn't help smiling.

Adam sighed sadly but kept his eyes on the road.

_Only a few hours of this and then I can go home…_


	3. Running On Empty

Authors note: hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. You'll finally have at least one answer you've been waiting for. Please R & R! Don't be shy: anything I can do to improve the story will make me a happy camper. No violence yet, so the rating won't go up.

I still don't own the rangers...=(

* * *

Katherine Hillard had never expected this day to come. At least...she hadn't been expecting it to come so soon. Strangers that she had become far too familiar with were asking her questions that she didn't want to answer; she had to figure things out that hadn't occurred to her in years, her children were a little more than devastated and she couldn't do a thing about it. Everything was starting to weigh her down. At least...that's how it appeared.

_But it's over now. At least part of it is...once today is over, I can move forward._

The people she was dealing with were..._polite_ and that was all. They stopped asking her questions and simply showed her things. She pointed here and there and they carried on.

She stared out the window, transfixed by the lightning. Sitting in the last pew of the small, dark funeral home, she pulled out her cell phone and glanced at the screen.

A number she did not recognize showed up on her call display. She smiled knowingly, remembering the first time she had been called by this "stranger."

She'd just tucked the kids into bed and was about to make herself a bowl of popcorn when her phone rang. She didn't recognize the number. Usually she would just ignore unknown callers, but this person...Would. Not. Stop. Calling.

Curious (albeit a little nervous), she pushed the 'answer' button. "Hallo?" her voice sounded raspy and unrecognizable, even to herself.

"Hallo _Kat._"

Katherine gasped. The voice on the other end of the phone was her own. She didn't know what to do. Rather than be scared, she breathed in and out calmly then spoke. "I don't know who you are, but I'm not scared of you. I'd like you to hang up and leave me alone."

She waited. _Nothing_. The line went dead.

Katherine hung up her phone, tossed it on the couch, and then went into the kitchen. The popcorn popped, she went into the living room and turned on the evening news. Her phone rang once, then stopped. An envelope appeared on her screen.

She picked up her phone and opened the message. "I guess my voice startled you. Would text be better for your nerves?" she read aloud. She gulped. "I don't want anything from you. All I want is for you to leave me alone." She said the words to herself as she typed them. It was reassuring to hear her own voice. She sent the message and waited.

Another envelope appeared with the number three beside it. Katherine opened the first message. "You can't escape me. I don't want to play games. You may as well know that _you are me_ just as _I am you_." She clicked the next message. "I am not a prank; I am not a mind-trick or some undigested food." She clicked next. "Have you ever had doubts about your life? Have you ever suspected someone of being untrue to you? Don't lie."

Katherine stared at the screen in horror and shock. _I don't like this. Whatever she thinks she knows: she _doesn't. She began to write back. "My life is fine and dandy thank you very much. Whatever you think you know, you're wrong."

There was a longer wait this time.

Katherine began to pace. She stared at the time, the TV and then her phone every five seconds. She ate her entire bowl of popcorn in the process, and her stomach began to ache, but she refused to leave the comfort of her living room.

_11:57...and still _nothing. _What is taking so..._

Her phone went off. She waited for it to stop vibrating before picking it up. _10_ messages this time. Katherine opened them one by one.

"You're pathetic. I'm not sure why anyone would waste their time with you, but I don't have a choice. Like I said: I_ am_ you. I think you should just accept this fact and move on. Moreover, you should accept exactly _what_ I am. I am everything negative that you have tried to push out of your life. I am what you were when you were under Rita's wonderful influence. I am_ shadow you._" Katherine had to stop reading.

_We destroyed the shadow rangers...and then we destroyed Shadow Chromite...how can this be possible?_

She continued to read. "I am every negative thought you have ever had. I am the essence of everything evil that you could be. We are opposites, counterparts, night and day, yin and yang. You never acknowledged my existence; therefore we have been able to co-exist. I grow tired of my boring existence, and of your constant whining. I propose a trade. I can help you figure out something I know you're _dying_ to know."

Katherine was intrigued.

_It's a trap. It has to be. But...what could I have that she could possibly want?_

Katherine's response was brief and to the point. "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours first. Tell me what you want from me."

"I want us to become one."

Katherine was in shock.

_I can't see myself getting any benefits from this...I can't see this turning out well at all. She knows something I don't though, and I want to know what it is. No matter what the cost._

"Tell me what you know, and I might consider it."

Instead of a text message, her phone was ringing. "Hallo?"

"Have you gotten over your shock yet? Do you really think I'm stupid enough to show you all my cards at once? Think about it. What could I _possibly know_ that you haven't already figured out?" The evil voice asked.

Katherine thought about it.

_Nothing has happened since Tommy...wait..._

"Tommy. You know something about Tommy, don't you? You know why he ran away that night. Why. Why did he run away? What was he running from?!" Katherine was beginning to get upset.

"Not from..._to._ Keep those wheels spinning, Katherine. You'll figure it out _all by yourself_. Think. What did he say before he took off? How was he acting?"

Katherine made a face. "He was saying...something about...having to finish..." she finally put it together. All the color drained from her face. The warmth from her eyes faded. The smile slipped right off her cheeks. "I know exactly where he was going. How could I be so stupid?"

"Well it's a good thing you _were_; otherwise we wouldn't have been able to have this little _chat_ could we? The past doesn't matter now. What matters is the future. What you do with the knowledge, how you plan to use it, carry on and all that. What are you going to do?"

"That life is over. The person who stole my life from me will _pay_." Fire burned in Katherine's eyes. Her shadowy self chuckled on the other end of the phone. "How long do I have to wait before I meet you?"

"You understand that you need me now, don't you. My request doesn't seem so bizarre anymore. I will meet you when the time is right."

Katherine would never forget that conversation, or that night. She slipped into bed and tossed and turned. Thinking about meeting her shadow self scared her, but at the same time, it intrigued her.

_I'll get my revenge..._

Her phone ringing loudly brought her back to reality. She coolly slipped outside. "Hallo."

"You ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She hung up her phone and ran to her car. She got in and drove off as Rocky's Jeep pulled into the parking lot.

"I wonder where she's going." Tanya recognized Katherine's car instantly. "When is the funeral supposed to start, anyways?"

"Dunno, but somehow I don't think we can start without the widow's permission." Justin's comment was out of character for him. Tanya and the others could tell he was upset about Katherine's departure, but said nothing to console him.

They all exited the Jeep and ran quickly to the shelter of the funeral home's roof. It was raining hard.

_I hope Adam and the others get here soon. Maybe one of them can talk to Katherine..._

Tanya shivered and Aisha put an arm around her shoulders. The former yellow rangers smiled at each other.

Adam's Chevy pulled into the parking lot soon after. Zack and Jason were the first ones out of the car. Followed closely by Billy, Kim and Adam. There were hugs all around and brief re-introductions. Rocky and Adam easily avoided each other's gazes.

"Let's go inside before we all freeze out here," suggested Adam.

They settled into the first two pews. "Anybody else get the creeps from this place?" asked Trini.

"Affirmative. Churches and I have never really gotten along." Billy affirmed.

"So then how did you and Cestria..." Kim began.

"We were wed on an Aquitarian beach. And no, I was unaware that Aquitar itself had the atmosphere for a beach, but apparently it does." As always, everyone was staring at Billy. "The ceremony was lovely."

Everyone laughed. Kim looked around at her former friends and team mates and caught Jason staring at her. Her cheeks turned red and she looked away hurriedly. He walked around the group and stood right next to her. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Uhm...I guess so?" Jason took her gently by the crook of her elbow and they wandered to the back of the home.

Adam watched but kept silent, his mood was souring slightly.

"You ok, Adam?" asked Aisha brightly.

"Course. I just...don't want to wait around too long. I'm supposed to drive home tonight. Can't get caught in a storm or..."

"...caught up in old drama?" Aisha finished. They smiled. "I know what you mean. I was actually meaning to talk to you about something we when...have a minute."

Adam knew exactly what was coming. "I don't really think now is the right time for..."

Right at that moment, Andros, Ashley, Cassie, TJ, and Carlos arrived. "We didn't miss anything, did we?" Asked TJ solemnly.

"Not at all. We're actually missing a key member of the party right now." Said Tanya as she ran to embrace Cassie and Ashley.

"Several key parties, actually." Everyone turned to see Kira, Conner, Trent and Ethan standing in the doorway.

"Who are they?" asked Justin.

"More friends of the dearly departed." Adam smiled grimly, as he embraced Kira. They moved away from each other. "Meet Tommy's students."

Everyone took turns introducing themselves.

"Well this is...cozy." Kim smiled at the new guests. "Wonder who else is going to show up."

"Who else did Tommy know?" asked Conner.

"More like: who _didn't_ he know?" Said Andros. "I spoke with Wes before we all got here. He and Eric should be on their way." Nobody knew who Andros was talking about, so they just nodded.

"This is like one, big ranger convention." Carlos' attempt at humour was lost as no one was really paying attention to him.

Kim stood up. "I'm sorry you guys, but this is just _too_ weird. You can all sit around and share stories and drinks and act like things are perfectly normal...but I just...I just..." she broke down. Adam stood to console her.

"For everyone's sake: let's just try to get along. Nobody said this was going to be easy." Trini tried to reason with the group.

Kim broke away from Adam slightly. "Yeah, but no one said it would be so _hard_ either! I mean..." she continued to sob, then stopped and wiped her eyes. "I mean we're all _acting_ as though...it's like it's nothing. Tommy is dead, and we're _acting_ like it didn't happen. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been wishing that he'd just walk through that door with Kat. But he's not going to. I'm not saying that you should all turn into sobbing messes like yours truly here..."

"I think what Kim is trying to say is that this isn't a party or a reunion. We lost a very dear friend and the mood should be just a little more sombre. That's my take," said Cassie quietly.

The other rangers nodded in agreement.

"Now that we're thinking about it though, who else _are_ we going to meet today?" asked TJ curiously.

"Who knows." Said Jason, shrugging.

_Who cares,_ thought Rocky. _This isn't supposed to be a big deal. Come to town, go to funeral, get drunk, go home. _


	4. Down The Rabbit Hole

Author aside: thank you all who read and reviewed! No, I have not forgotten about this story. No, the bunnies have not run away from me. Yes, I will explain things all in good time.

The main thing to explain now is essentially, my grandfather passed away at the beginning of the month. Funny thing, innt it? I'm writing this story about a funeral and then I have to go to a funeral for someone important in my life. I was temporarily uninspired to write which is also the reason for my not being as active on here lately. I am inspired again and so I am posting again. This chapter is longer than the last one and hopefully just as good.

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Billy Cranston hadn't been expecting the ceremony to be so...he couldn't think of the word.

_This reminds me of Kat and Tommy's wedding for a number of reasons. At first they didn't want to tell anybody because they didn't think any of us would come. They could have been right; I think a few people would have preferred not to make an appearance. And there were all those awkward moments of silence... _

_What count are we at now? Five original rangers, three _almost_ original rangers, five replacements, an extra ranger, four ex-student/rangers...this is getting confusing. How many rangers did Tommy come into contact with over the years?_

_We're all rangers here. Even that thought isn't comforting. It feels like this whole thing is going to end badly._

Trini smiled at Billy. She knew that look. She tapped his shoulder and he smiled slightly. "Lost in contemplation?" she asked.

"Lost in translation, actually. I just can't believe how many rangers there are now. And on that same note, how many ranger lives Tommy has managed to touch. It's pretty phenomenal." Billy blew his hair out of his face. "So: how's Hong Kong been treating you? Must be pretty exciting."

"I like it there. I never thought I'd miss it when I first moved to Angel Grove, but when my father invited me to come back home to work, it turned out to be the best thing to happen to me since I became a ranger." She laughed at herself. "You know what's funny, Billy? It feels like I've had to learn everything the hard way. Leaving home seemed smart at the time, and then the second I got home I realized how much I missed it. Becoming a ranger seemed like a really stupid thing at first, and then when I _wasn't _a ranger anymore I missed it more than I thought I would."

"I think we've all felt that way at some time in our lives, Trini. You're no stranger than normal, don't worry."

Trini hugged Billy. "Thanks for that. I was beginning to worry." They laughed quietly in unison. "So Aquitar, hmm? And you're married with kids as well."

"Yeah well...those weren't things on my to-do list when I originally went there, but I'm glad they happened." He stared at Trini intently "I'm very happy."

She nodded. "I'm glad. I wondered if you ever would be..."

There was a knock at the door. "Not to be rude or anything, but who knocks at the door of a funeral home?" Asked Cassie as she went to answer the knocking. The pulled the door ajar slightly. The wind and heavy rain sent the door backwards and sent Cassie flying. Carlos caught her. "Thanks for that." He set her upstraight.

"Someone wanna help us?!" called an unfamiliar male voice. Adam, Rocky and Jason ran down the short hall to help their new companions close the door.

"Nice day for a funeral!" Yelled Jason, trying to humour the group.

"Yeah! This is the _ideal_ weather to gather together and pay our respects." Shouted another male voice. They finally succeeded in pushing the door closed. "Thanks. Name's Shane." Shane stuck his hand out to Jason who shook it solemnly.

"Jason. Now which series of rangers might you be?"

"Ninja Storm." Said the second male, who extended his hand towards Adam. "Dustin, nice to meet you."

"Adam. Hey."

"This is Tori, Cam, Hunter and Blake." The rest of the group waved.

"Is this all of us?" Asked Tori. "Seems like there are more of you than I was expecting."

"Seems like Tommy kept up with ranger goings on while the rest of us retired." Quipped Rocky.

Everyone began chatting amongst themselves and with the newest guests. Adam sat back down again and Aisha approached him. "Adam I really think..."

He sighed and she could tell he was getting angry. "Aisha, stop it. This isn't the place or the time. Really, it isn't even your business to keep bringing it up. I don't want to get into it with you or Rocky now or ever. I think it would be a good idea for you to just drop..."

Aisha slapped Adam. Everyone became silent. "You listen to me right now." Her voice was dangerously low. "I am sick to death of _both_ of you. This attitude you have towards me and this problem is unacceptable. And by the way: since I'm friends with both of you it _is _my business, I wish you would both stop saying that it isn't. It's not even like this is _your_ funeral. You're just _acting_ like it is. Like we've all killed you with kindness or something. When Katherine gets back, I'm going to tell her you and Rocky have a _little_ something you have to take care of before we can pay our respects to Tommy. I can't do this anymore, Adam. It has to stop."

Adam, who was in shock from the slap, said nothing. His eyes dropped to the floor and he heard Aisha begin to sob. He looked up at her and the grim look he'd had on face for too long slipped right off. He embraced Aisha and felt tears welling. "We will, Aisha. I'm so sorry."

No one, including Rocky, had heard what Aisha had said to Adam. They all tried to go back to their conversations, to give the pair a bit of privacy.

"This is going to sound a bit childish, but I feel weird being here with so many strangers. Maybe we could do a bit of getting to know each other. How did all of you come to meet?" Asked Conner.

The now unoccupied ex-rangers looked at one another, each wondering who was going to start.

Kim, who had been trying to hear what words were being exchanged between Adam and Aisha stood up. "Uhm...I feel like I'm at an AA meeting or something here. I'm Kim, original Pink ranger. I went to high school with Jason, original Red, Trini, original Yellow, Billy original Blue and Zack, original Black. Tommy joined our high school under the evil influence of Rita Repulsa, a bad guy who never knows when to quit. The spell was eventually broken and Tommy become...he became our...we..." Kim started tearing up at the thought of the relationship she had once shared with Tommy.

Jason patted her on the shoulder. "We all became good friends."

Rocky rolled his eyes. "Guess it's my turn. Me, Aisha and..._that_ one are from Stone Canyon, California. We were visiting Angel Grove for the Final Round of the Team Ninja competition and helped rescue a runaway baby carriage. We started getting mixed up in Rita and Zedd's evil shenanigans and we eventually took over for Jason, Zack and Trini."

Ashley looked at her former teammates and Andros rubbed her shoulder to encourage her. "Uh we uh...our story is similar to theirs, actually. Except TJ and Cassie rescued Katherine from a group of Pirantrons and Carlos and I helped the others."

"We battled Divatox and Goldgoyle to save the earth and while they had to leave earth to search space for Zordon, I chose to stayed on earth." Justin continued.

"That's where I come in. Onboard my Astro Megaship, I pulled their NASADA ship onto my own using a tractor beam. After some initial..._discussion_ I agreed to let them help me fight Astronema." Andros and Ashley smiled at one another.

"I think my part of this story is next in terms of chronology." Another unfamiliar voice spoke from the back of the funeral home. There were ten more strangers standing near the doors. "I'm Leo, Lost Galaxy Red ranger. Of the people standing next to me, I know Carter, Wes, Eric and Cole. These others I've never seen in my life."

"We'll speak when you're at our part." Said Bridge.

"Myself and four other teens from the space colony, Terra Venture, were seeking a new world like Earth. We found five swords called Quasar Sabers on a planet called Mirinoi that transform us into the Galaxy Power Rangers. The one Andros calls Astronema is also named Karone. She is his sister, and she replaced one of our rangers. When the ten of us teamed up to destroy the Psycho Rangers once and for all and Kendrix, our Pink ranger, was killed by Psycho Pink." Leo finished. Everyone stared wide-eyed at him. He coughed and looked around. "What? She was brought back to life. No worries guys."

"Wow...how do I follow that up? I didn't even _know_ those details until...now. My name is Carter, Red Lightspeed Rescue ranger. A government organization called Lightspeed, headed by Captain Mitchell recruited four civilians and his daughter to defend our city. We were aided by a team of scientists and engineers led by Angela Fairweather, and we operated out of the Lightspeed Aquabase, an underwater military compound."

Wes and Eric looked at one another. "Since I wasn't exactly ranger material when we first met, maybe you should take the story helm, Wes."

"Gee thanks, Eric. As you may have guessed, we are Eric and Wes, Time Force Quantum ranger and Time Force Red ranger respectively. For a time, a police organization called Time Force had tracked down every single criminal - except for a villain name Ransik. Ransik seriously injured my...uh...descendant, which led to his fiancé and her three team mates chasing him through time. I became part of their team and eventually Ransik chose to accept responsibility for his crimes and carve his own path in life and our mission was over for the time being."

"Thanks for forgetting about me there, Wessy. I was a member of the Silver Guardians while Wes was busy _trying_ to be a ranger; _I_ discovered the Quantum controller box and became the Quantum Ranger. I was put in command of the Silver Guardians and managed to fight evil just fine while operating independently from the Time Force squad." Eric and Wes smirked at Eric's comments.

"Was anybody else confused by the descendant comment that kid just made?" asked Zack quietly to no one in particular. When Trini made the shushing motion with her hand, he rolled his eyes.

"I'm guessing that all ended up being water under the bridge, right?" asked Cole quietly.

"What do you think, Cole?" asked Eric earnestly.

"I guess you guys worked it out. Hi. I'm Cole. I was raised in the Amazon jungle and through no fault of my own became a power ranger."

"That's quiet some history you all have but uh...how do all you Reds know each other? Is there a facebook group keeping you connected or something?" asked Zack.

"It was actually Tommy who kept us all together. I guess he didn't tell you, but Serpentera, the Zord created and used by Lord Zedd with the power to destroy a planet was found on the Moon. The location of Serpentera remained a guarded secret until Venjix found it and began using Cog soldiers to dig it up. Andros discovered all of this and went to the moon to gather video evidence of their plans. He succeeded and sent the tape to Tommy. When Tommy understood Venjix's plan, he asked Andros to gather all the current Red Rangers. We were to meet him at the NASADA space port and help destroy Serpentera." Carter filled the non-red rangers of the group in.

Of all the people in the room, Kim looked the most stunned. "Gosh. I can't believe he kept a secret like that from us." The original rangers looked back and forth at each other, not knowing what to say to her. She caught Jason's eyes wandering around the room. "What?"

"Well...from what I understand you kinda broke his heart, Kim. You can't really blame him for not keeping you in the loop." Jason shrugged.

Kim looked taken a back. She looked at the other rangers, but none of them seemed willing to help her. She shook her head and started getting mad. "Well _you_ could have told us, _Jason._" There was venom in her voice.

"Yeah, I could have. But you didn't keep in contact with me _either_, Kimberly."

"Guys guys, c'mon. Let's try and be civilized. Kat will probably be back any minute. The last thing she needs to see is her friends fighting." Billy got between Kim and Jason.

Tanya turned to face the newest group of rangers who still hadn't introduced themselves. "Changing the subject completely: who are you guys?"

"To start off with, we're from the year 2025. My name is Jack and these are my team mates: Sky, Bridge, Z and Sydney. We were the SPD Ranger squad." Once again, a room full of rangers was stunned into silence. Sensing this, Zack continued. "We are only here in the past temporarily. Because these aren't your typical time travelling circumstances, we're not going to wipe any memories. You just...have to try not to mention us to anyone."

"Right right right...did we forget anyone else?" asked Zack.

"Uh...just us," said Kira quietly. "We went to Reefside High and while in detention, came into contact with Dr. Tommy Oliver. While researching fossils, Tommy found the Dino Gems. After learning of the power the gems contained, Tommy hid them. We found the gems and became the Dino Thunder Rangers. On a side note, the rest of you SPDers look _really_ familiar but I can't figure out why."

The SPD rangers looked at one another, knowing exactly _why_ they looked familiar, but they didn't say anything to confirm Kira's suspicions.

Bridge walked up to her and patted her awkwardly on the back in an attempt to console her. "Maybe it's because I'm such a vivid story teller that you feel like you've met them before."

"Yeah...maybe..." Kira didn't sound convinced.

"Well isn't this _cozy_?"

Everyone turned to face the doors. Kat was standing there with the priest. "Katherine! We were starting to worry about you." Kim ran down the aisle and gave her friend a hug. Kira moved away from Bridge and sat in a pew by herself. "Where have you been, Kat?"

"Just taking care of a few things. I'm glad you're all here." She turned to the priest. "I'm pretty sure we can get started now." He nodded and walked up to the front of the room to set up his notes. "If everyone could be seated..."

The rangers that had remained standing up until this point took their seats. Katherine and Kim walked to the first pew and sat right in front of the priest.

The priest cleared his throat. "As Thomas Oliver's wife has requested, I would like to start this service by asking anyone that would like to speak to come forth and share with us a memory. Who shall be first?"

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Hope you guys liked it. R&R and the next chapter should be ready for you in about a week ^^


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